Review Summary: A very dense, compact and invigorating if little short album which could have been a little masterpiece.
Austin, Texas, is not only the Violet Crown and Psych Fest, it's also the birthplace of many essential psychedelic and post-hardcore bands from legendary 13th Floor Elevators to The Black Angels and White Denim through the crucial Scratch Acid and The Jesus Lizard without forgetting post-rockers Explosions in the Sky and many more.
Boyfrndz could be added to this extensive list thanks to their sophomore album "Breeder", via Brutal Panda Records, almost two years after their debut "All Day Pass". If their first album offered some pretty dense and powerful tracks, somewhere between post-hardcore and math rock, the whole sounded quite monotonous, the rather similar compositions, a uniform sound palette and the shy subdued vocals being its main drawbacks.
Boyfrndz' second effort represents a hell of a giant step, a progress already noticeable on their 5-track EP "Natures" in 2013. Not only does the band improve on those mentioned downsides with a more colorful production, thanks to Erik Wofford (Maserati, The Black Angels, White Denim), and stronger vocals, they are further expanding their hypnotic and intricate sound - the addition of guitarist Jesse Moore could play a role - with memorable hooks and some surprisingly emotional deliveries : math rock doesn't have to be drowned by numbers. It would however be unfair to box Boyfrndz in one musical genre for sure, they are actually rather difficult to label, or let's imagine a more concise and near devoid of guitar solos Mars Volta or a less insanely neurotic Blood Brothers, or some mix of both, for instance on "Burn Through It".
However this short album, 8 songs packed into little more than 30 minutes, really starts off with the third song and single "Shape Shifter" and its groovy yet intricate drum beat, floating bass line and spacey to ear-piercing synths, guitars are near absent here. This song possesses an almost ambient quality if it wasn't for the at times frantic drumming. Vocals gain more prominence on "Dark Braining" while the rest of the instrumentation reaches near stadium rock anthemic peaks with a wall of shoegaze guitars, booming bass and colossal drums.
The second half of the album starts with its longest piece, the six-minute "Design", which is also one of the most moving, ambitious and emotional songs on the entire album. With its hypnotic guitars, beautiful shimmering keys and high-pitched delicate vocals, this song stands right between soft psychedelic and progressive rock for about one minute into the introduction until a massive wave of guitars and heavy rolling drums emerge and transform it into an epic ride through musical valleys and mountains, something like a ballad, but not really, or is it Boyfrndz' own "Bohemian Rhapsody"/"Paranoid Android"? Even heavier is "Make Believe", which sounds like being intermittently stomped over by some giant winged god who would take off, fly for a little while then land like a ton of lead on our chest with pummeling drums and bass to take off again through airborne guitars and finally crash-landing all over our sorry ass and provoke chaos and destruction around. This song contains one of the few real but short guitar solos and it's a loud ear-spitting one at that. The already mentioned "Burn Through It" is certainly the most energetic song around, a sonic bullet of distorted bass, harsh rocking guitars, bashing drums and fiery here ethereal there vocals. The hell of a closer "Big Faces" ends up the album with its slowest yet most loaded with heavy guitars and punctually thunderous drumming momentum until it goes all into space rock kinda pink floydian territories and leaves us moved, mind-boggled and wanting more.
A very dense, compact and invigorating if little short album which could have been a little masterpiece if more songs were of the quality level of "Shape Shifter", "Big Faces" and mostly "Design".
Boyfrndz could very much become pretty big, this album is epic and anthemic at times, open-eared Muse's fans could enjoy them, if they are not afraid to see their skirts lift up for awhile. Saying this, I'm a little afraid they could become emphatic-for-the-sake-of-being-emphatic, there are some hints here and there on "Breeder", like their fellow city folks ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead or, yes, Muse, or even, no, Yes (the shadow of Jon Anderson has been spotted in some corners). In the meantime, a band to watch and follow closely.
